I got into the Hellgate:London beta a couple of weeks ago and now that the game went live (Oct. 30) I suppose I can give MY review on the game.
First off, it's not like your normal MMORPG, in fact, it's closer to an MMOFPS. The game is fast, furious and can make you jump three feel out of your chair. Unlike most MMORPGs, HGL is not turn-based, there is no waiting to do something, you attack immediately and as fast as your abilities and weapon speed allow you.
The classes include, Guardians (paladins), Blademasters (warriors), Marksmans (hunters), Summoners (warlocks), Evokers (mages) and Engineers (a little bit of everything). As you gain levels you apply points to your skills via a skill tree similar to WoW and add points to stats (Willpower, Strength, Stamina and Accuracy).
There isn't really any crafting in the true sense of the word, but a person can dismantle loot he gets into its components and use those components to modify and upgrade weapons he finds or buys from a vendor. Since I'm not a crafter-type, this doesn't bother me as much as it might others. You can augment gear by spending money, upgrade your gear by adding components and modify your gear by adding special mod drops. The mod drops actually change the look of your gear besides adding special abilities. I have had weapons with up to seven mod slots which in the end not only did massive amounts of damage, but looked cool too.
As some of you who have played with me know I like to get into battle and go crazy... HGL is exactly geared toward this type of gamer. There is a main storyline to the game which advances you through areas of London and plenty of side quests to add to your gear and experience. I was in the British Museum because a rift to Hell opened there and once I went to Hell, defeated the Demon Lord and his minions, escaped and closed the gate, a statue of Annubis came alive and attacked me. As I fought, other statues came alive and started summoning Fel Bores. In the end after I defeated everything, I counted over 30 minions lying on the floor with 6 of the statues and the Emperor (the Annubis statue). As a guardian, I had used 32 health pots and for the first time in a long time was completely pumped.
What I like about the game is that it makes you feel like a hero. They don't throw one or two mobs at you and it takes you ten minutes to kill them. Rather, you get large groups that make you think, you use the surrounding area (I like exploding barrels to help me kill mobs) and the game really makes you feel like you did something and in less than a minute. As you get over one battle there is a good chance you already being attacked by something else.
Each instance is generated so it's rare to go to the same place and it be the same as the last time you were there. However, if you were there before and go back, its the same. So a place doesn't just change unless its the firt time there. It could be a little clasutrophobic for some people as most of the game takes place underground with some excursions to the surface.
Problems I have with the game, although its an MMO it just doesn't FEEL like it at times. Yes, you can create guilds and there are numerous other people in the train stations, with each person having their own instance to explore it can feel a tad lonely. If you ever played Guild Wars, it's like that.
You can have a subscriber account which gives you access to everything in the game and allows you to increase the difficulty for $9.95/month or you can have a non-subscriber account which is free but limited.
The game is fast and fun but not for everyone. I give it a thumbs up.
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